Columbus’ craft beer scene keeps growing and changing, and that means you’ll always find something new each time you visit. The Greater Columbus region boasts 31 local craft breweries, 19 of those within Columbus city limits. They range from highly regarded production breweries to neighborhood nano breweries and everything in between. Columbus beer styles focus on using Ohio grain and an increasing amount of local hops.

One fun way to explore the beer scene is through the Columbus Ale Trail! Pick up a Brew Book at any of the 29 participating breweries, or an Experience Columbus Visitor Center, and use it to guide you through a great beer experience. Get four stamps to earn an Ale Trail pint glass, or all 29 for a custom designed deck of playing cards.

Another way to enjoy the scene is by brewery hopping around the Brewers Row corridor near Downtown. Featuring six breweries, all within a few blocks of the free CBS downtown circulator, you can start at the north end at North High Brewing. North High Brewing (1) combines a sporty vibe, with lots of screens and decor made from reclaimed redwood bleachers from Ohio Stadium, with a huge variety of beers, including the Milk Stout, a favorite.

Featuring genre-busting beers with a focus on experimentation, the Humulus Numbus Super Pale Ale is a standard at Seventh Son Brewing (2), and the Scientist IPA is a constantly changing experimental IPA. With two great patios and a rotating cast of food trucks, this has become the nightlife hotspot. The new Hoof Hearted Brewpub and Kitchen (3) has a bright and swanky modern space and tasty food. Their Farmhouse IPA is a standout.

Barley’s Brewing Company (4), is one of the first breweries to open in Columbus, has hearty pub fare and specializes in Scottish Ales and the fun Firkin Fridays, where small batch beers are tapped.

What’s better than brewery hopping? Getting some fun context from beer-loving guides, a designated driver and meeting the people who make some of Columbus’ best beers. Columbus Brew Adventures offers tours in downtown Columbus, Grandview as well as tours of areas outside the city, and a beer and pizza combo tour.

Bars, Spirits and Wine

Columbus microdistilleries are crafting award-winning spirits that have drawn national attention.

Middle West Spirits is known for its OYO series of vodka, bourbon and whiskey. Brother’s Drake Meadery crafts mead from raw Ohio honey. Try is semi-dry Hopped Ohio mead, or the sweeter Apple Pie or Bergamot Blue. Watershed Distillery has the corner on the gin market in Columbus. Try the Bourbon Barrel Gin – a happy result of Watershed distilling bourbon.

Food Trucks

You’ll be amazed at the freshness and creativity that comes out of a truck. Columbus’ street eats range from taco trucks and BBQ to Korean and sweet, savory crepes. Seek them out on a map here. You’ll be glad you did.

The Street Food Finder app (fueled by COFTA), available for Apple and Android and free to download, includes Central Ohio’s best food trucks, carts and trailers.

Desserts

We’re known worldwide for our ice cream. Jeni’s Spendid Ice Creams combines milk from all-Ohio grass-fed cows with spices, fruits and even vegetables from all over the world. Columbus also boasts some of the best pastry chefs in the Midwest. Pistacia Vera in German Village offers a wide array of perfectly presented French patisserie, including their famous macarons. Mozart’s Bakery in Clintonville specializes in Austrian-style pastries.These hot-spots are just the tip of the iceberg for the delicious desserts you will find in Columbus.

Coffee

In Columbus, coffee roasting is as much of a science as wine-making and has the best coffee scene in the Midwest. There are quality coffee shops all across Columbus.

The Columbus Coffee Trail is the perfect way to taste what happens when quality and collaboration come first. Pick up a coffee trail card at any of the 13 participating shops and buy a drink at four or more to claim your free Columbus Coffee T-Shirt!

Dining Near OSU

Whether you are a college student or parent checking out the university, here to catch an OSU sporting event, or just passing through this iconic neighborhood, there are many options to eat, drink and explore.

Buckeye Donuts has been a favorite stop since it opened in 1969. The old school donut shop serves breakfast sandwiches and gyros, too. The Gateway on campus is home to good eats, too, like big eateries and bars like Mad Mex, Ugly Tuna Saloona and World of Beer. Or there’s always-favorite Hounddog’s Pizza, with their famous Smokin’ Joes crusts. Ethyl & Tank, located behind Newport Music Hall, serves as a coffee shop, a bar, a lunch and dinner spot, and a weekend brunch haven